


Indirect Message

by timeloop



Category: Marvel 616, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Getting Together, Identity Porn, M/M, Pining, Requited Love, Slight Misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7145855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeloop/pseuds/timeloop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone left a bouquet of flowers at Tony Stark's door and he forgets about it. No big deal right? So why is Captain America avoiding Iron Man?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Indirect Message

**Author's Note:**

> It's been awhile since I've uploaded something, and the first thing I do upload is a foray into the world of early 616 where Iron Man is Tony's "bodyguard". This is my first time writing the 616 universe, so any criticism is welcome!
> 
> Unbeta'd, all mistakes are my own. Please tell me if I missed any tags as well. Thank you for reading.

Tony opened the bedroom door without looking up, tapping away at his phone. He said, "Give me a minute, I'm --"

 

He looked up after hearing someone clear their throat, and his eyes opened wide in surprise. Behind a huge bouquet of roses he could see the top of a very blond head, and he had to swallow a few times before going, "Um. Hi?"

 

No, his voice did not just reach that high a pitch. Why would it? After all, it was just _Captain America_ who was holding a huge bunch of flowers and standing at his doorstep. Not a big deal, was what Tony tried to tell himself.

 

"Nope, just me," Clint said as he lowered the bouquet and gave him a wink. He was grinning widely, looking like he knew who exactly Tony wanted it to be.

 

Ignoring the hope that had sparked when he opened the door, he made a stop sign with his hand.

 

"Not interested, Hawkeye."

 

Clint was still smiling like someone had just shown up with a box of pizza for him, and he shrugged. Then he said, with a perfectly serious face, "I know my waist to shoulder ratio isn't perfect like someone, but I still got the blonde, Avenger thing happening, you sure you don't want to consider? I'm good with projectiles too, you know."

 

That made Tony laugh as he looked down at the flowers. They were dark red and wrapped a with silver and gold paper, and it was gorgeous to look at. He'd been with this team long enough to be able to joke with them, and it was something he never knew he wanted, or even needed.  Which was why he could not tell them he was Iron Man. There was simply no way they could allow him into battle if they knew about his heart and the chestplate.

 

"Definitely not. And I'm not looking for a date."

 

"Your loss, Mr Billionaire. But seriously, these are for you." He handed Tony the bouquet so quickly that there was nothing he could do but take it so the roses wouldn't hit him right in the chest.

 

"What? Hey, Hawkeye!"

 

Clint was already walking off, down the hall of the mansion as he replied, "Found those outside your door, didn't want them to get stepped on!"

 

Closing his bedroom door, Tony walked to his bed and put the flowers down, and he only had a second to admire them before his phone started buzzing.

 

"Tony, you need to get here right now, there's an R and D emergency and the technicians can't handle it."

 

"Give me ten minutes, I'll be right over."

 

"Thank you, Tony. I'll see you later."

 

The forgotten bouquet of roses lay hidden under a bunch of formal shirts and jackets as he rushed out of the room a few minutes later, and the door shut with a click. The white card with the neatly written words _For Iron Man_ remained nestled among the flowers, a lonely square of white amongst the sea of red.

 

***

The clicking of her heels against the floor was the first sign that she entered the room, and Tony didn't even open his eyes as he started, "Pepper, you are amazing and wonderful and beautiful and --"

 

He could hear her give a soft laugh as she pushed a cup to his lips and said, "Drink some coffee before waxing more poetry about me, maybe then it'll be good."

 

He opened his eyes but didn't move from the comfortable position he had on the chair, smiling at her. He didn't manage to go home last night, and a glance at his watch informed him that it was five in the morning. They had stayed up all night trying to correct the faults in the new software, coding and recoding countless times to try and get a bug of the system. The ache in his shoulders from being hunched over a desk hadn't been obvious then, but now it was hitting him with full force.

 

"Do you want to take the car? I'll have other means of transport," he asked her once he saw that she had finished with her own coffee.

 

"I, are you going to do _that_ again?"

 

"Don't say it like that, Pep. I've been working on some upgrades, it doesn't drain me as much now. I swear," he added as her eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.

 

"I just. Okay. Are you fully charged now? Last night was really intense. I don't want any incidents like last month happening again." A slim but firm hand rested over his. "We care for you. You're our friend, and we don't want you to get hurt. You know that, right?"

 

He felt a lump in his throat and as he swallowed he put his other hand over hers.

 

"I do."

 

"I still think you should tell the team. I've met them, and they don't seem like the type of people who would stop you."

 

"Pep. Not now, alright? I'll tell them. I swear, just give me some time."

 

She gave a sigh, but patted his hand gently.

 

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Get some sleep. Goodbye, Tony."

 

"See you later."

 

After she had left, and the door to the office closed tight, he reached for the briefcase under his desk, and slid his thumb over the biometric scanner. It opened with a click, and the gold mask of Iron man stared back at him. He ran his index finger from the top of the helmet all the way down, enjoying the way the smooth metal felt under his fingertip.

 

"Let's see if those upgrades worked."

 

***

 

The upgrades did not work. In fact, they had caused excessive power depletion which led to a rather frightful moment where he thought he was going to crash into a building while having a heart attack. However, thankfully he was close enough to the mansion that he could divert enough power to ensure a glide to the roof of the mansion, even if it meant the risk that someone would have seen him walking to the secret entrance to the workshop as the power died.

 

Mercifully, the roof had been empty from any archers looking for perches, or fashion designers looking for inspiration. He managed to get to the workshop unseen, and take off armour so he could work on it some more.

 

Tony linked his arms and stretched it over his head, loosening all the tense muscles by a fraction, as he felt dum-e tugging on the hem of his shirt insistently.

 

"What are you doing. Seriously. Dum-e."

 

The bot keep wheeling up and down, refusing to let go even when Tony tapped him with a wrench.

 

"Okay, okay you crazy bot. Take it."

 

With that, he slipped off his unbuttoned shirt, balling it up and throwing it to the corner so that dum-e could fetch it. While it was much cooler with the shirt off, the outline of the chest plate and it's bright yellow were extremely obvious, and Tony activated his security system that blocked everyone's but his access to the workshop.

 

Three hours later, Tony very calmly put down his soldering gun, and told himself not to use the suit just to repulsor a circuit board in half. He pressed his index fingers to his temples and started to rub them, in an attempt to get rid of the headache that had been bugging him for awhile. Nothing to show after three hours of work had taken its toll, and all he wanted was some coffee. As he got up to go to the machine, there was a solid knock on the door.

 

In a rush, he grabbed the closest piece of clothing he could find. It was an oversized grey sweater with the Stark industries logo printed over the left side where the heart would be. Looking down, he checked that the chest plate was hidden, as the knocking got more insistent.

 

He opened it to find Captain America, well, Steve, holding a tray with a sandwich and a cup of hot coffee.

 

His stomach grumbled as the scent of the grilled chicken reached his nose, and he gave a sheepish grin. Tony motioned for Steve to enter the workshop, pushing away materials so he could place the tray on the table.

 

"Evening, Mr Stark. I didn't see you at breakfast Thought I might find you here."

 

"Please, call me Tony" -- he took a big gulp of coffee -- "And yeah, I was busy. Repairs, upgrades, you know. The works."

 

He watched at Steve turned around to look at the entire lab, his eyes lingering over Iron Man's helmet longer than necessary before turning back to him. He had a soft look in his eyes, a sort of awe that Tony didn't see very often directed at him or his creations. Usually they were stares of greed from his investors, or envy from his competitors, and he felt his cheeks heating up. It was nice to feel appreciated after all, and since it was Steve Rogers doing the appreciating, let's just say that was a bonus.

 

To cover his blooming sense of pride, he took a small bite of the sandwich and chewed quickly. Steve wasn't saying anything, just sitting with his hands folded neatly in his lap, but his eyes kept moving from the door to pieces of Iron Man scattered around the workshop.

 

A few minutes passed, and as Tony was finishing up his sandwich, he could _see_ the exact moment that Steve took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and looked him in the eye.

 

He asked in a rush, "I was wondering, did he say anything? About the" -- he bit down on his bottom lip -- "the, you know. I waited all night."

 

When no more words came, Tony prompted, "I'm sorry? Did who say what? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

 

Steve's whole body seemed to drop like a puppet whose strings had been cut. It was as if Tony's words had sucked out some kind of hope within him, and he gave a sad smile, which Tony completely did not understand. He tried again, "What's going on, Captain?" _He mentioned a him._

 

 _"_ Is it Iron Man? You were looking for him?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Oh. Well. He was taking care of some business last night, he was really busy. I'm sorry, I could call him if you want?"

 

"Last night?"

 

"Yeah, I needed him for the night."

 

It took Tony a few seconds to realise what his words just implied, but it was too late. By the time he wanted to open his mouth to clarify, Steve had stood up and blurted, "It's alright. I understand. Thank you, Mr St-- Tony. I got to go."

 

Then he bolted out of the workshop, ignoring Tony's calls for him.

 

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to dwell on it as the Avengers card started to beep, and there were calls to assemble. Reaching for another briefcase,  which contained a suit that most definitely did _not_ drain his power, he started putting it on, feeling the thrill that came from being Iron Man.

 

It was funny, how being sealed in a suit of armour made him feel more free than anything else, and he headed out to meet the Avengers.

 

***

 

Tony's head hurt. His neck felt like it had been stretched beyond what was normal, and his shoulders were aching like hell. He felt like throwing up. Vaguely, he could hear someone calling his name.

 

"--an. Iron Man. Hey, wake up. Come on, Tin Man."

 

He must have given some sort of response because he felt the tapping on his helmet stop, and the voice had an edge of relief to it.

 

"Oh thank God. Cap is going to have _words_ with you when he gets back. Flying an exploding doombot into a swarm of doombots and then asking Thor to send lightning down is not a strategy, Iron Man."

 

It was slowly coming back to him now, how he had used the doombot that had somehow grabbed onto his leg to destroy the rest of them. Flying headfirst into a swarm of doombots that the Avengers hadn't been able to put a dent through even after a few hours had been taking it toll, and he did it as a last ditch effort to prevent any more casualties.

 

"Wasp?" He managed to gasp out. God, his throat was dry and scratchy and he needed water.

 

"Yes it's me. And before you ask where's Cap, he's with Thor. They're helping the first responders. Can you fly? We'll head back to the mansion first. And then we'll let Don take a look at you."

 

A quick check of the systems suggested that, yes he actually had enough power to fly. It seems that the lightning charged him up somehow, and he made a mental note to look into it later. Getting up, he replied, "Yeah. Yeah I can still fly."

 

When he scanned the area for a particular figure before doing so, Wasp pointed to his left, where Cap was patting a fireman on the shoulder. He saw them looking at him, and jogged over after a few last words.

 

"You alright, Iron Man?" He asked with a lot of concern in his voice. There was something off about it though, and Steve didn't reach out to touch the armor like he usually did to check he was okay. Normally he would be running hands down the armor without hesitation, until Tony would say, "Have you touched me enough Winghead?" And Steve would laugh, and blush before replying, "Not in the way I'd like, Shellhead."

 

That was not the case today. In fact, Steve's hands were clenched into fists at his sides, and he looked like he was using all his concentration to keep them there. He wasn't even standing close enough to reach out.

 

"Sure am. Nothing I can't handle. Ready to go?" He held out an armoured hand, ready to hold Cap and fly him back to the mansion. He saw Steve glance down at his hand, then his eyes flicked back to the mask and he shook his head. It looked like it pained him to do it, but he did it anyway.

 

"I'll fly back with Thor. You head back with Wasp. We'll see you two at the mansion later."

 

With that, he turned and ran back to where Thor was without another look back. Tony stood there frozen for what seemed like an eternity, as he couldn't believe that Steve turned down a hug and fly. _Steve didn't want to fly with Iron Man._ That was, that was impossible, Steve loved flying as much as he did, he _knew_ that. The Wasp seemed to sense his disbelief, and she tapped him on the shoulder. She held onto his hand, which was still outstretched.

 

She tried to say cheerfully, "I'll fly with you. Come on. Cap probably wants to helps them move rubble or something, we've never flown together before, have we Tin Man?"

 

He appreciated her changing the topic, so he snapped himself out of his disappointment, swallowed down the rejection that stung, and went "Alright let's go, race you back to the mansion."

 

"Oh we'll see about that!"

 

Then they both were off.

 

***

 

The debrief went smoothly, and just as everyone was leaving the room, Steve put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Stay for a moment. I'd like to talk to you."

 

Tony couldn't help smiling at the words, and hope flared in his heart as he waited for the explanation of why Steve refused to fly with him earlier. To say that he had been distracted during the debrief was an understatement, as he kept mentally listing down reasons why Steve would refuse, and then striking them out immediately. There had to be a logical reason why he was rejected. There _had_ to be.

 

He couldn't accept it if there wasn't.

 

"Shellhead? Are you listening?"

 

Tony didn't realize that Steve was sitting next to him again, and snapped out of it only when the question was accompanied by a hand waving in front of him.

 

"Sorry. I was distracted. Do you mind repeating that again?" He turned to face Steve, the joints of the chair creaking from the weight of the armour.

 

Steve gave a small sigh.

 

"I was saying, what you did just now, could you at least give us a warning before you dive in? We needed options, and losing you isn't going to give many. You're important to m-- the team, Shellhead, we need you. Okay?"

 

Well, he should have expected that.

 

"Okay. Yeah. I promise I'll come up with a better plan next time."

 

"One that doesn't involve some self sacrifice?"

 

There was no sarcasm or malice to the words, just pure concern.

 

"I'll try."

 

"Alright."

 

There was an awkward silence.

 

Steve probably felt it too, as he got up, pushed the cowl off his head and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up all over. It was an act that showed how comfortable he was in front of Iron Man, that he didn't have to care about keeping appearances up, that made Tony feel a spike of arousal, and he wanted to run his hands through the hair and wipe the dirt and grime off Steve's face and kiss each spot as he did so.

 

Steve was already halfway out the door when he blurted out, "Why didn't you want to fly? With me. I mean, just now I offered you and everything but you. Didn't. Look, it's fine. It's doesn't matter. I'm heading to the workshop."

 

He stood up and headed for the door, but unfortunately it was closed and blocked by Steve who was crossing his arms, a look of frustration on his face. Tony tried to reach around for the doorknob, but Steve grabbed his gauntlet, only to let go immediately. Sharp, blue eyes stared into his, and Tony would have admired how beautiful they were if not for the frown surrounding them.

 

"What do you expect me to do? Tell me, Iron Man."

 

"What? I don't know what you're asking me."

 

"I think your absence shows it clear enough. There is no room for me, and there never was. -- he took a deep breath -- "And I need space, can you give me that?"

 

The words hit him with more impact that any missile could ever inflict, and he had to take a step back. Steve was glancing at everywhere but him, looking like he wished an alert would sound just so he could have a reason to leave.

 

"Space? I don't know what the hell you're talking about?"

 

Steve still looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up, but he looked right into Tony's eyes and said, "I asked you for a date, Shellhead. And you said no. That's what happened."

 

"A _date_?" was all that managed to leave his mouth.

 

" _Yes_. A date. I knew it was stupid. God. I passed the flowers and card to Mr Stark.  I thought he -- Nevermind. Are we done here? I shouldn't have done it." The last few words had lost the anger, replaced only by regret. Steve stared at the ground, his cheeks bright red, although whether it was from anger or embarrassment, Tony couldn't tell.

 

A card. And flowers. Suddenly everything clicked into place, and he understood what the hell was going on. He almost laughed in relief, but he thought that Steve would not appreciate that at all, so he kept his mouth shut.

 

He grabbed Steve's gloved hand, his heart hammering in his chest as he used the other to tilt Steve's chin up so they were face to face. The sensors picked up a rapid jump in Steve's heartbeat too as he did that, and he felt confident enough to say, "You trust me, Winghead?"

 

Steve voice was low and he whispered, "You know I always do."

 

"Then follow me."

 

***

 

The two of them stood outside the room door, still holding hands as Steve said, "This is Mr Stark's room, Shellhead."

 

"I know."

 

He keyed in the code for the room, and led Steve in, locking the door behind him.

 

"What are we doing here? I'm not sure--"

 

He was cut off by the sound of the gauntlets tapping against the helmet. Tony's hands were on the helmet, ready to take it off, and as the voice of reason ( _you're safe, it's just Steve)_ began battling with the voice of instinct _(you're a liar, all this time)_ , he let his hands slide down again. Steve, perceptive as usual and always able to read him, said quietly, "What are you doing? Please don't feel like you have to do anything you don't want to. I'm perfectly happy being your friend, Iron Man. You're just -- You're wonderful, and if I can't make you happy, then you deserve someone who can."

 

That was it. Just the thought that someone could make him happy, it was never going to happen. It was Steve, had always been Steve, from the moment he woke up in the ice, to the time he first tasted sushi, to their first hug and fly, it had always been Steve who knew him, and that gave him all the courage that he needed.

 

Reaching down, he held onto Steve’s hands, before placing them on the helmet’s release clasps. He took a deep breath, trying to soften the roaring in his ears and the panic that was welling up within.

 

“I trust you.”

 

“Are you sure?” Steve’s voice was so close, he was probably only a few centimetres away now. His hands didn’t move at all from the way Tony had positioned them, and were firm and steady. He wanted those hands to be on his cheeks, to hold him close, and to never let him go. He closed his eyes, and let his hands fall to his side.

 

“Very sure.”

 

The pressure on his head eased after a moment, before he felt cool air washing over him. He kept his eyes closed, fearing the look of anger or betrayal that he might see in the azure eyes opposite him. Then, a gloved hand touched his cheek, rubbing at the cheekbone. It was soft and tentative, but comforting, and his eyes fluttered open.

 

“Hi there, Shellhead.”

 

“You’re not mad?” was the first thing he blurted out, even though what he really wanted to say was _‘I’m glad it was you’_.

 

“Why would I be? You’ve given me a home. I’ve been a fool, not knowing you were by my side all this while. Mr Stark.”

 

The jolt of automatic panic that shot through him when he heard Steve saying that was sharp but brief, after all, it was _Steve._ He trusted him with his life, and now his identity was in this man’s hands as well. And there was nothing wrong with that.

 

He held out a hand, trying to ignore the way it trembled a little.

 

“Hi. I’m Tony Stark. I’m also Iron Man.”

 

Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him in so their noses were almost touching. One hand was on the small of his back, while the other was on the back of his neck. They were both so warm, and comforting, and the smell of leather and Steve''s aftershave made him take a deep breath to calm the thudding of his heart.

 

“Steve Rogers. Captain America.”

 

Having him so close made Tony shiver, and he breathed out, “You’re my Winghead.”

 

Not missing a beat, Steve replied, “And you’re my Shellhead.”

 

“That I am.”

 

"I'm going to kiss you now," Steve said in a voice that he usually used in the field to shout orders.

 

"I'm waiting," Tony replied, before warm lips pressed gently against his.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my [tumblr](http://timeloopin221b.tumblr.com/).


End file.
